Former pro cyclist Nicolas Roche beaten up by three men in Barcelona
By Natalia Penza
Former pro cyclist Nicolas Roche has been beaten up by three men who tried to steal his watch during a street mugging he has described as the “biggest fright” of his life.
The 41-year-old son of legendary Irish cyclist Stephen Roche was attacked as he left a restaurant in central Barcelona.
Recounting his horror experience on Instagram alongside a photo of his broken timepiece, the French-born Irishman, who rode professionally between 2005 and 2021 for seven different teams, said: “Just been attacked and beaten up by three men as I walked out of a restaurant in central Barcelona trying to rob my watch.
“Thanks to my girlfriend and the two security agents from the shop further down the street, I managed to not only save my watch but mostly stopped the attackers from beating me more.
“It’s crazy to think that someone in the restaurant must have warned the gang to wait outside for me.
“I had read about all of this in the news, but it’s something else to experience it. The biggest fright of my life.
“Where I was shocked was that for over five minutes people stood there watching as I was on the ground, as my girlfriend was shouting for help until eventually the two security guards came out to scare the thieves away.”
Saying he was hoping the nearby shop camera would help catch the culprits, Nicolas said in a follow-up message to his 140,000 Instagram followers, showing off the injuries he had suffered: “Thankfully, only’ a few cuts on my face and a bruise on my elbow.
“Marta got a hit behind the head trying to protect my head on the ground.
“Still finding it hard to believe what happened. Be careful, everyone is going out.”
It was not immediately clear this morning if any arrests have been made.
Barcelona is notorious for its mugging problems.
In August 2024, Ben Ainslie revealed he had been robbed of his €20,000 Rolex at knifepoint by a Barcelona watch gang.
The most successful Olympic sailor of all time was in the Catalan capital ahead of qualification races for the America’s Cup.
Roche took twelve victories during his professional road racing career, including four titles at the Irish National Cycling Championships and stage victories at the Vuelta a España in 2013 and 2015.
He represented Ireland at the Olympics on four occasions between 2008 and 2020.
In October 2022, Roche set up his own gravel cycling team, NR GRVL, and in May 2023, he took a third-place finish at the UCI Gravel World Series event in Nannup, Western Australia.
